How Consigning Works at Julia’s

With a consignment shop the process is as follows:

We have a section of the shop for selling clothing and handcrafted items on behalf of other people .

You select your items in good to excellent shape and bring them in. The first time you visit the shop, we will talk about pricing items and bringing them in in “Ready to Sell” condition. You set the prices and get them ready for the racks. In follow up visits, you can use “drop and run” procedures and we will hang them, price them and get them ready for you. As a consignment shop owner, I then take your items, display them attractively in the shop, post photos on the shop’s webpage, Instagram and facebook pages.

We strive to give our customers a great deal on a gently loved item that would otherwise cost much more in retail stores and our seller a convenient way to clear out clothing and toys to generate a little cash. Many stores have different policies and ways of doing things so make sure to ask as many questions as possible when you are consigning with anyone. I do a 40/60 consignment split on clothing items and a 30/70 split on handcrafted/boutique items, which simply means whatever the final price of the item sells for we split it with 60% (or 70% for craft items) of the selling price going to you. We keep most items for a 90 day period. The items must be in good to excellent condition, no rips, tears, stains, pulls of any kind. The items are all washed, dry cleaned, pressed and ready to go.

Now as a customer walking into a consignment shop some might feel that prices are too high in general, while others are brand conscious and see the great deals they are getting. As a seller, you can be assured that we market all of your items consistently and we strive to take the stress out of the selling process for you. Any items that are unsold and in turn donated after the allotted time period then go out to local places or people with the need for them. Most consignment shops are very friendly and their goal and purpose is to help you dress your family for less.

You can always find some great deals if you are a bargain hunter like myself! In most cases all sales are final and there is a no return policy in effect. Never be afraid to ask any and all questions. I feel there are never any stupid questions. You don't have to spend a lot of money to look like a million dollars!

StitchBox!

Surprises that come in the mail are great!  Some people even send themselves surprises in the mail just to get that little thrill that comes from the mystery box that suddenly appears.  I am talking about those subscription boxes that are all the rage right now.  You can find subscription boxes for snack foods, doggy toys, wine, cheese, and yarn too.  Yarny surprises delivered right to your door with patterns and needles and sometimes even a goody or two.  It's the best fun.

We have a subscription box at the shop now that is getting rave reviews from the regulars.  It is top secret until they are mailed out and then everyone is excited to share what they got.  They leave comments on the facebook page or email the shop to share how exciting the box was.  The secret to each box is that it has items that are not in the shop yet.  It is filled with new colors of yarn or new lines of yarn,  needles, notions and who knows what else.  The items in the box are a lot less than you would generally pay for those same items in a store.  That is another plus for subscription boxes.  You can count on getting deal with most of these boxes.

Try out a surprise for yourself this month.  Pinterest has loads of subscription box posts.  Find a box that interests you and try out something new this month.

Here's a link to our offering this month : http://www.juliayarnshoppe.com/

Shopping online or your local small business?

I own a small business and I shop online.  I support the 3/50 project with my business and in practice with several small local businesses and I shop online.  I am an Amazon quick fix junkie for some things.  I can have a quick shopping fix right from my desk or my favorite chair if I choose.  I know.  It’s a problem.  Sometimes it’s a budgetary problem.  Sometimes it’s an “I live in rural America and this thing isn’t available here” problem.  I’d rather this item of the moment was available at my local department store, but it’s a specialty item.

When I work on a project, I love the touch and feel the craft materials I use.  I have not had success choosing materials from a catalog or an online site because I am so tactile and sensory about the process.  If I order something crafty, when the desired item arrives it’s the wrong color, the wrong size, and the wrong shape.  It goes to a dusty shelf and I reorder or try something else. 

When I travel with the family, we specifically search out yarn and fiber shops.  I gather their addresses in advance on Google, KnitMap or SweaterBabe.  I plan out the time to visit.  My family usually goes for ice cream after they drop me off at the LYS.  It’s a long adventure and they know it.  And I get something there that I cannot get at home in my favorite chair.  I pick out a random skein of beautiful yarn or a shop pattern.  I have a nice chat with someone who lives in another part of the country.  They usually don’t know that I own a yarn shop because I don’t share that.  I am seeing what other yarn shops feel like and that is best done incognito.  I want to know the atmosphere and character of the shops I visit.  I soak it in because each shop has a different feel.  And I write down something interesting about each one.  I look for ideas that I can take home and that are worth using another time.  You can’t get that on Amazon.